Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation
With the global focus on service-led growth has come increased need for practical techniques for service innovation. Services are fluid, dynamic, experiential, and frequently co-produced in real time by customers, employees, and technology, often with few static physical properties. However, most product innovation approaches focus on the design of relatively static products with physical properties. Thus, many of the invention and prototype design techniques used for physical goods and technologies do not work well for human and interactive services. This article describes one technique-service blueprinting-that has proven useful for service innovation. Service blueprinting is securely grounded in the customer's experience and it allows the clear visualization of dynamic service processes. The technique is described in detail including real case examples that illustrate the value and breadth of its applications.
Authors :: Mary Jo Bitner, Amy L. Ostrom, Felicia N Morgan
Swot Analysis of "Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation" written by Mary Jo Bitner, Amy L. Ostrom, Felicia N Morgan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Blueprinting Service facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Innovation and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing energy prices, there is increasing trade war between United States & China,
increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Blueprinting Service, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Blueprinting Service operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Blueprinting Service
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field.
4. Making a Innovation & Entrepreneurship topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Blueprinting Service
Strengths Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Blueprinting Service in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation Harvard Business Review case study are -
Innovation driven organization
– Blueprinting Service is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Blueprinting Service is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Blueprinting Service has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to lead change in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field
– Blueprinting Service is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Blueprinting Service in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Strong track record of project management
– Blueprinting Service is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Learning organization
- Blueprinting Service is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Blueprinting Service is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Blueprinting Service in the sector have low bargaining power. Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Blueprinting Service to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Blueprinting Service has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Blueprinting Service has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Blueprinting Service has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Blueprinting Service in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Blueprinting Service has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation are -
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation, is just above the industry average. Blueprinting Service needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation HBR case study mentions - Blueprinting Service takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Blueprinting Service, firm in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation, it seems that the employees of Blueprinting Service don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Blueprinting Service has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Blueprinting Service is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Blueprinting Service 's lucrative customers.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Mary Jo Bitner, Amy L. Ostrom, Felicia N Morgan suggests that, Blueprinting Service is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Need for greater diversity
– Blueprinting Service has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Blueprinting Service needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Blueprinting Service has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Opportunities Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation are -
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Blueprinting Service has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Blueprinting Service to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Blueprinting Service has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Blueprinting Service to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study. Blueprinting Service can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Blueprinting Service to increase its market reach. Blueprinting Service will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Blueprinting Service can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Blueprinting Service operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Blueprinting Service to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Blueprinting Service to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Manufacturing automation
– Blueprinting Service can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Developing new processes and practices
– Blueprinting Service can develop new processes and procedures in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Blueprinting Service is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Blueprinting Service can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship segment.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Blueprinting Service can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Blueprinting Service can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Blueprinting Service can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Blueprinting Service can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Blueprinting Service can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Threats Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation are -
Increasing wage structure of Blueprinting Service
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Blueprinting Service.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation, Blueprinting Service may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Innovation & Entrepreneurship .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Blueprinting Service business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Blueprinting Service high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Blueprinting Service demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Blueprinting Service is facing in Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Innovation & Entrepreneurship field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Blueprinting Service can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Blueprinting Service has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Blueprinting Service needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Blueprinting Service will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Blueprinting Service can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation .
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Blueprinting Service can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Environmental challenges
– Blueprinting Service needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Blueprinting Service can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Blueprinting Service needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.